holidays

This holiday season finds my little family totally broke.
not just a little bit broke, but totally and completely penniless.

but, like that's going to stop anyone from having a good time...

ok, so the gift exchange thing is out of the question.
we're just not doing it.
what we ARE doing...is going sledding.
yep, christmas day the plan is for me, my fiancee, my sister and her boyfriend to trudge out to the ol' sledding hole in the woods with a thermos of cocoa, sled all day (which means "make about 3 passes down the hill each"; it's a monster. huge and steep. and in the middle of the woods...with no trails leading to it. it's exhausting), trudge back to the house while (at least i will be) swearing like a sailor; an angry, tired and completely out of shape sailor. then drink more cocoa, make cookies watch movies and eat.
that is going to be our christmas.
and it's essentially free.

oh, and don't think this whole not having money thing has effected our holiday decor.

our christmas tree was free. we just had to chop it down.
and the rest of our decor was basically free.
of pine boughs.
lots.

but they are beautiful, natural, organic, and biodegradable.
and free.
(though, if you are going to decorate with pine, hemlock is best avoided. oh, it looks beautiful, but it dries out extremely quickly and showers your home with hundreds of pine needles...daily. also, do your tree-host a favor and don't take too many boughs from one tree.)

we will host a potluck/byob party for our friends for new years, which always goes over extremely well. our pals usually bring a homemade treat, and everybody shares the goods. nobody feels obligated to do or bring more than they can, and there is always an overabundance of food and drink. it's a great time.

and that's it.
simple.
liberating.

mushroom soup (vegan)

i decided to be a good girlfriend and make john some soup while he was at work.
it was good, so i'll try to share what went into the pot...

handful of dried porcini mushrooms, (chopped)
4 cups vegetable broth ( i had bullion)
2 cups fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup unsweetened soymilk
3 tbs margarine
2 tbs potato starch
1 tsp truffle -infused oil (if you've got it)
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili spice - optional (i found it in my cabinet. it had chili peppers and clove and garlic in it. i figured "what the hell?")
 salt and pepper to taste.


soak the dried mushrooms in the broth  and simmer for about 5 minutes ( keep the heat at a simmer throughout the whole process. you don't want to heat this too much, or it'll separate and get gross. low heat!)

add the other mushrooms, garlic and onion. simmer until tender

in a separate bowl, heat the soymilk and margarine until  margarine is melted.
add the potato starch and whisk until thick

add soymilk mix to soup, whisking constantly.

add the rest of the spices and stuff

revel in your accomplishment.

"new" table

our dining room table was in desperate need of replacement.
so off to the thrift store...

john spied this little $10 gem.

buried under years of ugly paint was a solid wood table just the size we were looking for.
after a bit of sanding...

 

and staining

we had a new, perfectly rustic little table!

and the total cost (i had the stain in my basement, and borrowed the sander from my dad) for table and pack of sandpaper: $13.

awesome.

sinful sweet potato bread

lately john has been baking like crazy.
i can not bake.
 instructions and precision measurements makes me feel stifled and rebellious.
and rebellion in a field which requires precision usually ends in smoke and anger.
john has the patience for it, and amazing things are suddenly emerging from our oven.
this is one of them...

1  1/2 cups sugar
    1 cup canned sweet potato
    1/2 cup banana
    1/2 cup water
    2 eggs
    1  2/3 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    3/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
    1/2 teaspoon cloves


Mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, and stir them together. 

                                     

Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 60 (?) minutes.

            (Keep an eye on it, when a toothpick comes out clean, it’s done.)

Let cool for at least 10 minutes and then remove from loaf pan to a plate.

try not to eat the hell out of it with your bare hands.

Serves: 6-10

fall cleaning, cornbread and pets i'd sometimes like to strangle.

so after fighting with my cat for the sofa i finally surrendered.
he won. and there was no way i could deny it any longer.
so yesterday i got the distinct displeasure of wrestling with a broken sofa, smelly porch chairs, disgusting old magazines and dust bunnies the side of real bunnies all day long.
but
now my house is cleaner, smells better and feels better.

and it got me thinking...people always go all out spring cleaning. and i suppose i do to, but i think fall cleaning is just as important.
seeing as you will be living primarily in your confined homespace for the next few months it's probably a good idea to make it as livable as possible while the weather is still nice enough to open windows and haul stuff away.
so i think i'm going to make a new annual habit of doing just that.

lately, likely due to the cooler weather, my lover has taken to baking bread. last night it was cornbread, and it was fantastic.
home baked bread is probably one of my new favorite things.
and it's cheap.
 and delicious.

i am really too distracted to properly write today. too busy.
i got to start my day sweeping and vacuuming because my pets are shedding their fur at exponential rates these days, and that means i now get to clean twice a day instead of just once.
for all the hair they lose i expect to see at least one bald pet wandering around...

but the holidays are creeping up and i'll have more interesting things to say soon, i promise.
i apologize for this very lackluster, boring blog.

baked pear recipe

my fiancee is allergic to apples.
devastating news to someone in love with the apple tree and all things born from it.
that is, until we started experimenting with pears.
most recipes that call for apples can be substituted with pears with little difficulty, sometimes (as in the case of the baked apple recipe) with an even more fantastically delicious result.
this recipe is so quick, cheap, simple and versatile you can use it to make just one pear or twenty.
most of the stuff you'll need you probably already have in your cupboard.
plus, they only take about 10 minutes to make!
so...here we go:

baked pears

what you'll need:
*bowl for mixing ingredients
*baking pan (or oven safe bowl for just a pear or 2)
*quick outs (instant oatmeal)
*pear (try out different types, i've found i like mine a little less firm. they bake up all mushy and delectable)
*dried berries (i like currents best, but blueberries are super yummy, and raisins or cranberries always work)
*butter (softened)
*brown sugar
*maple syrup
*cinnamon

action time!:
preheat oven to about 300
while oven heats, cut top off of pear and core it. a grapefruit spoon works well, but a teaspoon or knife will work depending on the firmness of the pear.

in bowl, mix all the other ingredients in an amount coinciding to the size of your pear or pears you are making, and how you like your stuff. (i go easy on the berries. i also like my stuffing a little sweeter, so extra maple for me.)

mix until slightly moist and sticky, until it can easily hold together in a ball.

stuff that pear!
sprinkle a little extra brown sugar on top for a crunch coating of yum.

bake until the pears skin start to split a little. (or until the pear is soft, if you want it to look perfect...and want to be poking it every 5 minutes, which i think is dumb. plus, i get distracted and forget the pears until i smell that fantastic smell to remind me "oh, shit! you've got goodies in the oven!")
it should take about 7 minutes or so i'm guessing. but, honestly, i've never timed it. (see "distracted" above)

take em out of the oven, let them sit a minute (they will be nuclear. no matter how good they smell, don't ruin the experience by scalding off your taste buds and digging in too soon. trust me)

you're done.
i told you. easy.

pot pie recipe.

first real fall-feeling day.
rainy
windy
cool.

this is how we celebrate.


easy-peasy pot pie

what you'll need:

either a large dish or several smaller oven safe bowls, a microwave safe mixing bowl, and a saucepan and a whisk



ingredients:

*fresh veggies of your choice, chopped
(i use potato, peas, pumpkin or other winter squash, broccoli, onion, corn and green beans. or whatever else i have laying around)
*butter (or substitute)
*milk or plain soymilk
*sour cream (or imitation)
*salt
*pepper
*flour
*cumin
*sage
*olive oil
*cheese, if you feel like it
*frozen phyllo dough sheets.

first, thaw your phyllo dough if it's frozen. just microwave it for a minute or so..

then preheat the oven to about 400

then steam your veggies in the microwave.

while the veggies are steaming, melt the butter in the saucepan. i usually use a few tablespoons but it really depends on how much you're making.(i never measure anything, so you'll just have to use your brain and judge for yourself. i have faith in you.)

add enough flower to make a bit of a paste
then add the milk (a cup or so, i guess)
then the sour cream.
it should already be all saucy, if it's not thick enough, add more flour or sour cream. or cheese. which is good. like aged sharp cheddar. yum.( i'm not vegan anymore so i can say that)

season the sauce to taste.

you should have about 2/3 as much sauce as you do veggies. i like mine saucy so i make a bit more.

dump your veggies in whatever receptacle you'll be baking them in, and cover them with the sauce

cover the veggies with the phyllo dough as the package directs. if you're using smaller bowls, just fold the sheets in half, making& sure you brush a little oil between the folds. the more sheets you use the happier you'll be. just pile em on, and don't worry about being too dainty.

bake em until they get all bubbly and the dough gets toasty brown!

let em cool for AT LEAST 5 minutes or you'll burn your face off. seriously.

eat the hell out of em!